Track belts which may be removably coupled around the tires of vehicles are known and in use. Such removable tracks are traditionally employed for obtaining better friction and traction between vehicle wheels and the ground when traversing particularly wet, slippery or muddy terrain. Such track belts have been constructed in the past from a plurality of track pads including ground engaging crossbar members or shoes which are linked together at their ends. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,271 issued on Feb. 24, 1970.
Such prior art traction devices have suffered from several problems and disadvantages. One of these is the tendency of the individual track sections to tip or pivot sideways into the sidewalls of vehicle tires when one side of a track section goes over a rock or other obstacle. This causes the upwardly projecting sidewalls of the track sections to gouge the tire sidewalls. The double pivot pin connection in each track section utilized to link the track sections together is believed to contribute to this problem. Moreover, prior art track belts of the type disclosed herein have not incorporated any truly satisfactory means for adjusting the slack or tension in the belt after it is in position around a vehicle tire. The contour of prior art track pads has also not been completely satisfactory with respect to providing the necessary friction between pad and tire, and avoiding undue dirt accumulation between the track sections or pads and the tire peripheral surface.
The removable track belt disclosed herein has been developed with a view towards overcoming the aforesaid problems associated with previously known tracks for vehicle tires.